Ezekiel 28:1 - Meaning and Application

We had finished with Tyre in the last chapter, but now the prince of Tyre is singled out. God has a message for him personally, and Ezekiel must deliver it whether he listens or not.

First, the prophet must expose his pride. The prince’s people were proud (Ezekiel 27:3), and he was proud too. God resists the proud, and both he and his people were about to learn that truth. His heart was lifted up, meaning he had an inflated view of himself. He was full of his own ability and looked down on everyone around him.

From the fullness of his proud heart, he said, “I am a god.” He did not keep that thought to himself, he had the boldness to say it openly. Scripture does call princes “gods” in a lower sense (Psalm 82:6), but they must never call themselves that. That kind of claim insults the one true God, who will not share his glory with another. The prince thought Tyre depended on him as the world depends on its Creator, and that he was independent and answerable to no one.

He also thought he had the same wisdom and strength as God, and just as much right to rule. He acted as if his power were absolute and his word were law. He even wanted divine honor, expecting people to praise and admire him like a god, and he likely hoped to be treated like one after death, as a great hero and benefactor. In the same spirit, the king of Babylon said, “I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). That was a claim to share God’s greatness, not his holiness.

He thought his throne was as high and secure as God’s throne. He imagined his guards were as grand and strong as the angelic hosts around God’s throne. But he needed to be reminded of his true place. He was only a man, not God, a dependent creature, not the Almighty (Isaiah 31:3). People must be made to know that they are only human (Psalm 9:20). No matter how wise, powerful, or holy they are, they are still men, not gods. Jesus Christ alone is both God and man.

The king of Tyre, though he had great influence and wealth, though gifts were brought to him with almost religious respect, and though flatterers and poets treated him like a god, was still only a man. He knew that in his better moments, and yet he set his heart as though it were the heart of God. He had imagined himself equal with God, wise enough to govern the world as God does. That same sinful desire appeared in our first parents, and through them in all of us, when they wanted to be like God (Genesis 3:5). This same corrupt nature still pushes people to act as their own masters, live for themselves, and claim what belongs to God alone. That is a dangerous pride, and it will not go unpunished.

Second, the source of his pride is named. He was proud of his wisdom and of his wealth. He was probably a man of sharp natural ability, perhaps even a philosopher or a skilled politician, trained in the learning and statecraft of his day. He thought himself wiser than Daniel (Ezekiel 28:3). Daniel, though still young at the time, was already known for prayer and for wisdom in public affairs, as well as for his deep godliness. Yet Daniel was a captive, not a king, and it was remarkable that his wisdom still shone so clearly. The king of Tyre, in his pride, thought no secret was hidden from him.

He likely challenged others with questions and riddles, much as Solomon was tested, and he had probably solved every puzzle set before him. He may have uncovered plots and read the plans of neighboring rulers, and this success made him think he knew everything. So he said, “I am a god.” Knowledge can puff people up. It is hard to know much and not become vain about it. The one who thought himself wiser than Daniel was also prouder than Lucifer, that is, the bright angel who fell through pride. Those who are very knowledgeable must work especially hard to stay humble.

His wealth fed the same pride. The text does not say that his wisdom was used to improve government, make better laws, or help the common good. Instead, his wisdom and understanding helped him in trade. Like some kings of Judah who loved farming (2 Chronicles 26:10), the king of Tyre loved commerce. Through business he gained riches, increased his wealth, and filled his treasuries with gold and silver (Ezekiel 28:4, 5).

This shows the wisdom of the world. People often call those men wise who know how to get money and build estates, even if they do it honestly or dishonestly. But this path is really foolishness (Psalm 49:13). The king of Tyre was foolish in three ways. He credited his wealth to himself instead of to God’s providence, forgetting the Lord who gave him power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17, 18). He thought being rich made him wise, even though a fool may inherit or even gain riches (Ecclesiastes 2:19; 9:11). And his heart became proud because of his riches, which made him arrogant, secure, and harsh. His wealth set his heart as if it were the heart of God. The man of sin showed the same spirit when worldly power made him act as a god (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Those who are rich in this world must carefully obey God’s warning not to be proud or self-important (1 Timothy 6:17).

Since pride comes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall, he must now be told of the ruin that was coming. His downfall was already moving toward him as a just punishment for setting himself up as God’s rival.

Because you have claimed to be a god (Ezekiel 28:6), you will not remain a man for long (Ezekiel 28:7). Here we see, first, the tools God will use to bring him down. God says, “I will bring strangers against you,” the Chaldeans, who are not listed among the many nations that traded with Tyre in chapter 27. If one of Tyre’s old trading partners had attacked it, there might have been some pity because of old ties, but these strangers will show none. They are people with a foreign language, which even the king of Tyre, wise as he is, may not understand. They are called “the most terrible of the nations,” an army made up of many peoples, and at this time it was one of the strongest and most fierce armies in the world. God has these nations under his control, and he will send them against the king of Tyre.

Second, notice how complete the destruction will be. They will draw their swords against “the beauty of your wisdom” (Ezekiel 28:7), against everything you take pride in as your honor and the result of your skill. It is right for God to let our enemies take as plunder the things we have made into our pride. The king of Tyre boasted in his palace, his wealth, his city, his fleet, and his army. He saw these things as his splendor, the things that made him seem bright and great like a god on earth. But the enemy will defile, ruin, and strip all of that away. He thought these things were sacred and untouchable, yet the conquerors will treat them as common property and spoil their glory. Still, even if they take all he owns, surely his person will be safe? No. They will bring him down to the pit, to the grave, and he will die (Ezekiel 28:8).

His death will not be honorable, but shameful. He will be so disgraced in death that he can no longer expect to be honored as a god after death. He will die like those slain in the middle of the sea, whose bodies are thrown overboard without ceremony or special honor, left to become food for fish. Tyre is going to be destroyed in the middle of the sea (Ezekiel 27:32), and its prince will suffer no better than its people. His death will also be unhappy, not blessed. He will die the death of the uncircumcised (Ezekiel 28:10), those who are outside God’s covenant and strangers to him, and so die under his anger and curse. This is a double death, both of body and soul, a terrible second death. The sentence God gives against the king of Tyre is firm and final: “I have spoken it, declares the Lord God.” What he has said, he will do. No one can argue against it, and he will not take it back.

Third, this will fully prove that all his claims to deity are false (Ezekiel 28:9). When the enemy’s sword is at your throat and there is no escape, will you still say, “I am a god”? Will you still think of yourself the way you do now? No. Being overpowered by death, and by the fear of death, will force you to admit that you are not a god, but a weak, afraid, trembling, dying man. In the hand of the one who kills you, that is, in the hand of God and the agents he uses, you will be a man and not God, unable to resist or save yourself. God has said, “I said, you are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High; but you will die like men” (Psalm 82:6-7). Those who set themselves up as rivals to God will, sooner or later, be forced to drop their claims. At the latest, death will make us know that we are only men.